Girls Basketball: Jacqui Grant leads Maine South past Glenbrook South

Updated: December 15, 2011 9:19PM

There’s no wonder why college coaches are tripping over themselves to talk to Jacqui Grant.

Once again, the 6-foot-3 Maine South junior and Division-I recruit played like one of the state’s best big girls in the Hawks’ 45-39 win over Glenbrook South on Thursday in Glenview.

Grant’s offensive rebound and assist to Regan Carmichael midway through the fourth quarter started No. 10-ranked Maine South down the road to victory. A little later, she then converted a three-point play to help the Hawks to a 42-32 lead.

On the other end, Grant blocked a shot and got the ball, and the Hawks were able to hold on for their sixth win in a row to improve to 13-1 overall and 3-1 in the CSL South.

“We definitely do everything we possibly can,” said Grant, who scored a game-best 17 points. “Everyone can contribute, and everyone is good at picking up one another up.”

Maine South was ahead 22-16 at the break, but Colleen McDonagh hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the second half. The second three-pointer led to a four-point play and gave the Titans a 23-22 advantage.

Grant made two free throws to return the lead to the Hawks. Glenbrook South then turned the ball over on an in-bounds violation, and Maher buried a three-pointer for a 27-23 lead. The Hawks never trailed again.

“That was huge,” said Glenbrook South coach Steven Weissenstein, whose club lost for the first time in league play to fall to 3-1 in the conference and 9-2 overall. “There’s no reason for us to bobble the ball like that.”

Mark Smith didn’t call Thursday’s game a must-win, but the Maine South coach knows how valuable road victories are in capturing a CSL South championship.

“There are only a couple of opportunities to steal a road win, and you need those to win this conference,” he said.

Abby Keller and McDonagh each scored 15 for the Titans. Michelle Maher followed Grant with 11 points. Carmichael contributed eight points in the victory.

© 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.